Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Even religious sexism in Israel is portrayed lightheartedly and sympathetically in US media: imagine if these were Muslim women

If those were Muslim women, hearings would have been held in US Congress and Senators would be urging NATO to intervene to liberate them. "Ten women, including two American rabbis, were
detained by the Israeli police on Monday for praying at the Western
Wall wearing prayer shawls that are traditionally used by men, in the
latest escalation of a conflict over one of Judaism’s holiest sites. Those detained were part of the group Women of the Wall,
which has gathered each month for the past 24 years to protest the
ultra-Orthodox insistence that only men may pray at the wall wearing
traditional garb, a rule that has been backed by the Supreme Court. Micky Rosenfeld, a spokesman for the Israeli police, said the women were
not charged with criminal offenses, but were barred from returning to
the wall for 15 days. He said the women had been detained “as a result
of them wearing the garments that they’re not allowed to wear
specifically at that site.” He noted that despite the court ruling,
“they decided to go down to that specific area.” The dispute over prayer at the wall, a remnant of the retaining wall
that surrounded the ancient Temple Mount, has caused growing tensions in
recent months between Jewish leaders in the United States and the
Israeli government. Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, the head of the Western Wall Heritage
Foundation, which controls the site, said in an interview in November
that the wall “is not a site for any kind of protest” and “not a place
for the individual, where everyone can do what they want.” Of the
women’s group, he said, “You can’t have everyone taking the law into
their own hands.”"

Comic by Terry Furry, reproduced from "Heard the One About the Funny Leftist?" by Cris Thompson, East Bay Express

As'ad's Bio

As'ad AbuKhalil, born March 16, 1960. From Tyre, Lebanon, grew up in Beirut. Received his BA and MA from American University of Beirut in pol sc. Came to US in 1983 and received his PhD in comparative government from Georgetown University. Taught at Tufts University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Colorado College, and Randolph-Macon Woman's College. Served as a Scholar-in-Residence at Middle East Institute in Washington DC. He served as free-lance Middle East consultant for NBC News and ABC News, an experience that only served to increase his disdain for maintream US media. He is now professor of political science at California State University, Stanislaus. His favorite food is fried eggplants.

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